What to wear for your Professional
Portrait Session
To create your portrait, it is important to consider our dress recommendations, as certain colors and textures are critical elements in the final piece.
We suggest that you avoid solid black or solid white as your selection. There is no reason you can’t include a black or white piece in your selection, but try to add some colorful components, such as a colored blouse under a black jacket. This will be more interesting. Navy or french blue are other suggestions for a dark jacket that also come across as very professional.
Your eyes are what draw people in, so pay attention to the color of your iris. Try to either match your eye color or go opposite from that color on the color wheel. For instance, if your eyes are green, select a green color or red. Here are the color combinations: green/red, blue/yellow, brown/purple.
Also, we suggest that you wear a color that you get compliments in. That also gives a boost of confidence because one always feels better when they look better!
One good suggestion is a jacket made of a soft fabric with soft shoulders -it should have a small lapel or none at all.
New, fresh clothes photograph well. Clothing should be fresh, cleaned, and at its best so that we can showcase YOU at your best. Ill-fitting clothing (too big or too small) rarely comes off well in a photograph, so spend some time finding something that is flattering for you. Feel free to arrive early with several outfits. We are happy to help you choose what will photograph best.
If you are having group images created, it’s not necessary to match exactly, but it is important that the clothing be coordinated to some degree with an underlying color running throughout and in a similar vein to present the image your company wants to align with. In other words, if one person is in a suit and tie, then the tone has been set to be fairly formal, so the rest of the team needs to be dressed as if they are going to the same event. (So that means no leggings and a sweater for someone else!)
Even if the casual person’s job doesn’t require formal clothing at work, having your clothing aligned will set a tone for your team that they are a professional team handling a client’s business in a professional way. If your team is more casual, agree on the level that you want to take the casualness, so that all involved are dressed to a similar level.
- Ruffles
- Patterns, unless you really love it
- Loose clothing – fitted, tailored clothing is best
- Scarves
- Keep it simple
- Sentimental family piece
- Necklace or earrings, but probably not both if they are large.
- Big jewelry is popular, but it will date your image – simple pieces are timeless